This invention relates to indoor recreational equipment. More specifically, the invention relates to a swing support assembly that can be removably mounted to a door frame.
In many urban environments, families have a limited amount of recreational space and playground equipment available for use by young children. Families in urban areas are typically forced to leave their homes and go to parks to use such equipment. Often times, parks are located a relatively long distance from the families' homes, making such recreation inconvenient. Additionally, children living in rural or urban areas in northern climates are unable to use the available outdoor playground equipment during the winter months. Therefore, a desire and need exists for playground-type equipment, such as swings, which can be used indoors, such that the recreational equipment can be used both in urban areas and during the winter months in northern climates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,696 to Pfefferle et al. discloses a doorway bar support and operating unit combination in which a variable length cross bar is mounted between the upright members of a door frame. Specifically, the doorway bar support includes a pair of pressure plate members each of which has a receiving channel that receives the upright abutment strip contained on the door frame. The pressure plate member disclosed includes a pair of frictional surfaces that fall on either side of the abutment strip. When the pressure plate members are correctly positioned, the cross bar is extended to exert an outward force such that the doorway bar support is securely held in place. The doorway bar support can then be used to support a variety of attachments within the doorway.
While the doorway bar support mechanism disclosed in the Pfefferle '696 patent functions to support a variety of items within the doorway, the attachment brackets used on each end of the adjustable support bar do not independently engage the door frame apart from the outward force exerted by the cross bar. Since only the outward force from the cross bar holds the support structure in place, if the cross bar become loosened, the entire doorway bar support structure could inadvertently become detached from the door frame in an undesirable manner.
Thus, it can be appreciated that a swing support assembly which engages the door frame separate from and in combination with the outward force supplied by an adjustable support bar would be a desirable improvement. In such a swing support assembly in which the brackets contained on each end of the adjustable support bar independently engage the door frame, if the adjustable support bar become loosened, the brackets would hold the support bar in its original position.